Consumer confidence flat in March

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans’ rosy outlook about the U.S. economy remains resilient as they focus on the good in the barrage of conflicting economic news.

A widely watched barometer of consumer confidence barely budged in March after last month hitting the highest level it had been in a year. Americans continued to be upbeat in March despite mixed economic signs. The stock market is up, but gas prices are, too. Unemployment is falling, but home prices also are declining.

Lynn Franco, director of private research group The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said consumers “feel the economy is not losing momentum.”

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell slightly to 70.2. That’s down from a revised 71.6 in February — the highest level it’s been since the same month in 2011.

Consumer confidence has made a recovery since it fell to an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009. But the March reading is below the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy. The index hasn’t been near 90 since December 2007.

Economists watch consumer confidence closely because Americans’ spending on things from clothing to health care accounts for about 70 percent of the nation’s economic activity.

One gauge of the Consumer Confidence Index, which measures how shoppers feel now about the economy, rose to 51.0, from 46.4 in the previous month. That measure now stands at the highest level in more than three years. But the other barometer, which assesses shoppers’ six-month outlook, declined to 83.0 from 88.4 in February.

“The moderate decline was due solely to a less favorable short-term outlook, while consumers’ assessment of current conditions, on the other hand, continued to improve,” Franco said.

The preliminary survey of consumers, conducted from March. 1 through March 15, showed shoppers’ worries about inflation rose to the highest level in a year. as gas prices rose. In fact, the nationwide average for a gallon of gas reached $3.90 on Monday, which is now less than 10 cents away from last year’s high.